TODAY THE WAR STILL CLAIMS MEN'S SIGHT
It will probably come as a surprise to the general public that twenty years since the war began men in Britain aro still losing their sight as the result of injuries received from gas and other causes while on active service, says the "News of the World."
During the last twelve months nineteen new cases.have been admitted to St. Dunstan's, which cares for the warblinded soldiers, sailors, and airmen. These included five men whose affliction was attributable to gas. Two more cases of what may be called "gasblindness" are under observation, and it is feared that there are quite a number of others still to coino.
It has been found in each instance that tho loss of sight is due to the effects of mustard gas. In'-evory case the men received some slight injury to the eyes all those years ago, and this has gradually developed, until today tho victims aro Buffering cither from total blindness or from such an advanced lack of sight that they can no longer do their ordinary
work. It is ouo of the functions of St. Dunstan's to search such men out and set about training them to overcome their loss of sight. The other fourteen cases were due to wounds from shells or bullets.
During the previous year there were twenty-seven new eases of men Winded through war injuries, and tho year bofore that thirty-three, so that in three years there have been nearly eighty new cases to como under the caro of St. Dunstau's. It now looks after something in tho neighbourhood of 2000 war-blinded men and 5000 of their dependants. At tho tiihe of the Armistice there were 1300 cases.
The average ago of tho men is now just under forty-five, and, on this basis, it has been calculated that in 1945 there will still be alive 1300 men, and in 1974 more than 400. A few may still bo alivo at the end of this century. That may sound startling, but, in this connection, it must be borne in mind that tho last pensioner from the Crimean War died quite recently.
TODAY THE WAR STILL CLAIMS MEN'S SIGHT
Evening Post, Volume CXVIII, Issue 78, 29 September 1934, Page 25
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